Luxury at Sea: SS Deutschland First-Class Breakfast Menu, 26 February 1902 – From Pancakes to Paprika Steak

Front Cover, SS Deutschland First Class Breakfast Menu From Wednesday, 26 February 1902. Featured Items Were a Typical American Fare, Including Buckwheat Pancakes, Omelets, Ham, Bacon, in Addition to Rump Steak, Calf’s Liver, and Grilled Vienna Sausages. Commodore Albers Commanded the Ship. | GGA Image ID # 15700c0167

🍽 Review & Summary – SS Deutschland Breakfast (26 February 1902)

This menu from the SS Deutschland of the Hamburg America Line is remarkably extensive for breakfast, demonstrating the luxury and variety expected in First Class dining at the turn of the 20th century. The offerings go far beyond the typical American breakfast of bacon, eggs, and coffee—adding German specialties, continental cheeses, hearty meats, and an impressive array of pancakes, fish, and potatoes.

The breadth of selection shows the Hamburg America Line’s attempt to appeal both to wealthy European passengers accustomed to elaborate breakfasts and Americans who wanted familiarity alongside Old World refinement.

Explore the opulent 1902 breakfast menu aboard the SS Deutschland of the Hamburg America Line, featuring calf’s liver with bacon, rump steak with herb butter, nine varieties of potatoes, German sausages, Russian cheese, and American-style pancakes—a lavish First-Class morning feast.

🍳 Featured Entrées of the Day

Calf’s Liver with Bacon and Onions – A rich, savory dish likely offered as a centerpiece for those wanting something substantial and distinctly German in character.

Rump Steak with Herb Butter – A hearty cut of beef, paired with classic French-style maître d’hôtel butter. This would have been considered a luxurious option for breakfast and a strong contender as the featured meat of the day.

• Fruits (Assorted Fruit)
• Buckwheat Pancakes
• Hominy
• Oatmeal
• Flaked Rice
• Hominy Pancakes
• Apple Pancakes
• Fried Bananas
• Baked Apple Dumplings
• Hominy Omelette
• Pancakes with Marmalade or Cranberries
• Potato Pancakes with Cranberries (Cranberry Sauce)

Eggs in every Style

• Soft Boiled Eggs
• Hard Boiled Eggs
• Scrambled Eggs
• Fried Eggs
• Eggs Over Easy
• Eggs Over Medium
• Eggs Over Hard
• Mulled Eggs
• Poached Eggs
• Poached Eggs on Toast
• Scrambled Eggs on Toast
• Shirred Eggs
• Spanish Eggs

Omelettes

• Ham, Bacon and Eggs Omelet (Ham and Bacon Omelette) with Tomatoes
• Plain Omelette
• Omelette aux Confitures (Jelly Omelette)
• Omelette with Parmesan Cheese (Parmesan Omelette)
• Omelet with Mushrooms (Mushroom Omelette)
• Omelet with Fine Herbs (Herb Omelette)
• Omelet with Ham (Ham Omelette)

• Fish Balls
• Sole Fish
• Rump Steak with Herb Butter
• Beef Steak à la Tatar (Steak Tartare)
• Mutton Chops
• Broiled Beef Steak
• English Mutton Chop (Mutton Chops)
• Calf's Liver with Bacon and Onions (Calf Liver and Onions with Bacon)
• Grilled Vienna Sausages
• Paprika Steak

Potatoes in Every Style

• Baked Potatoes
• Boiled Potatoes
• Browned Potatoes
• Fried Potatoes
• Jacket Potatoes
• Lyonnaise Potatoes
• Mashed Potatoes
• Roast Potatotes
• Saratoga Potatoes
• Sautéd Potatoes

Cold dishes

• Ox Tongue
• Westphalian Ham
• Cervelat
• Chicken
• Russian Sardines
• Sardines in Oil
• Sardels [Note 1] (Sardines)
• Smoked Eel

Cheese

• Swiss Cheese
• Roquefort
• Eidamer (Edam cheese)
• Dutch Cheese
• Russian Prairie (Steppenkäse) [Note 2]
• Empire Cheese
• Herb Cheese

Beverages

• Coffee
• Tea
• Cocoa (Hot Cocoa)
• Chocolate (Hot Chocolate)

Notes To Breakfast Menu

Note 1: Sardels is an Italian Cookware Company. Sardelles are a type of Sardine.

Note 2: Steppenkäse Cheese, a straw-yellow colored semi-hard cheese made primarily from cow's milk and containing 30% fat, was originally made by German immigrants living on the Russian Steppes.

⭐ Special & Engaging Items

Buckwheat and Hominy Pancakes – An American nod, particularly appealing to U.S. passengers craving home comfort.

Fried Bananas and Apple Pancakes – A sweet option not typical of a European breakfast, providing novelty.

Paprika Steak – A continental touch that reflected Central European flavors, showing German willingness to broaden the palate.

Cheese Assortment – From Roquefort to Russian Prairie (Steppenkäse), this lineup was highly cosmopolitan, showcasing cheeses rarely seen together at sea.

📜 Unusual or Potentially Confusing Items for Americans

Beef Steak à la Tatar (Steak Tartare) – Raw or nearly raw minced beef with seasonings, shocking to many Americans at the time.

Sardels / Sardelles – A type of sardine or anchovy, common in European diets but often considered too strong or unusual for American breakfasts.

Russian Prairie (Steppenkäse) – A semi-hard German cheese made by settlers in the Russian steppes, relatively unknown outside Central Europe.

Mulled Eggs – Eggs gently poached in cream or broth with seasoning, quite different from the straightforward fried or scrambled eggs most Americans expected.

🥔 Potatoes in Every Style

A remarkable highlight of this menu is the nine different potato preparations—from simple baked or boiled to elaborate Lyonnaise and Saratoga (fried chips). This variety signaled abundance and allowed every diner to choose a potato suited to their preference.

🥐 Variety & Balance

The menu offered:

• Fruits & Cereals (light fare for health-conscious passengers).
• Eggs in every conceivable style (a chef’s flexibility demonstrated).
• Hot meats and fish (steak, liver, sausages, mutton chops, sole, fish balls).
• Cold platters (ham, ox tongue, sardines, eel).
• Cheeses (international selection).
• Beverages (coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate).

This balance ensured that passengers could choose a simple continental breakfast, a rich German feast, or a hearty Anglo-American spread.

💡 Engaging Detail

The Deutschland menu illustrates the opulence of early 20th-century First Class dining at sea. Unlike the more restrained Tourist Class menus of the 1920s, this bill of fare was designed to impress: it provided nearly every option a passenger could imagine.

The presence of items like Paprika Steak and Russian cheese reveals the line’s commitment to international sophistication, while the abundance of American-style pancakes shows the company understood its transatlantic clientele.

SS Deutschland Breakfast Menu Items in German, From Wednesday, 26 February 1902. | GGA Image ID # 15704092b3

SS Deutschland Breakfast Menu From Wednesday, 26 February 1902. | GGA Image ID # 157049242b

Back Cover, SS Deutschland Breakfast Menu From Wednesday, 26 February 1902. | GGA Image ID # 157050208d